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Under Russian President Medvedev, the Kremlin’s efforts to develop and execute concrete solutions to Russia’s many challenges have been replaced by a constant stream of polemical sound bites and vague slogans.

When Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary-general, addresses an audience at Carnegie Europe on Friday, 18th September, he will speak about the possibility of a new dialogue between two former foes – NATO and Russia. Dmitri Trenin suggests that these discussions could initially take place through the NATO-Russia Council of 2002, but in time, that they might spawn a new framework altogether.

The economic crisis has devastated the Russian economy, where GDP is expected to contract by nearly 10 percent in 2009. Despite optimism among government experts, ballooning debt and plummeting revenues threaten the recovery effort.

Stalin’s growing popularity in Russia is less a function of an organized state propaganda effort to promote him than it is a result of the government’s lack of interest in setting the historical record straight on Stalin. Attention is increasingly focused on the greatness of the country and its achievements under Stalin’s rule.

By pursuing its own distinct foreign policy, Russia is isolating itself from the rest of the world. A continuation of these policies will leave Russia with only weak, opportunistic ties to the global community.

The absence of security, law enforcement or effective central government has created a vacuum in Afghanistan. The Taliban are conducting a campaign to eliminate government contact with the population and compel the people to accept Taliban rule.

Despite the official end of Russia’s counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya, armed clashes and terrorist attacks continue to plague North Caucasus. Open conflict is on the verge of becoming inevitable.

The hydrocarbon industries of the former Soviet Union are undergoing innovative development. In Russia, conditions both enable and inhibit the construction of a new economy focused on incentives for innovation.

A suicide bomb attack that killed 19 people and wounded at least 58 in Ingushetia was likely intended as retaliation for President Yevkurov’s determination to intensify his fight against Islamic extremists.

Questions remain whether Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the recent murders of human rights activists in Chechnya, or whether the crimes were an attempt by his opponents to discredit his leadership.